Overview
We take the protection of your personal data seriously. NovaNota is designed as a local-first application: your sheet music, annotations and recordings remain on your device by default. We do not operate our own cloud servers to store your content.
This privacy policy informs you about which personal data we process when you use our app and website, for what purpose and on what legal basis.
NovaNota may only be used for sheet music and musical material to which you hold the necessary usage rights — whether through your own authorship, a purchased licence or because the work is in the public domain. Managing, sharing or passing on copyright-protected material without the corresponding authorization is not permitted and is the sole responsibility of the user.
Controller
hoch4MEDIEN Dirk Sieker
Erlenweg 2
38271 Baddeckenstedt
Germany
Email: mail@hoch4Medien.de
Phone: +49 1522 – 2 86 81 80
Data inside the app
Local storage
The following data is stored exclusively on your device and is not transmitted to us:
- Your imported PDF and MusicXML files
- Annotations you create with Apple Pencil or your finger
- Imported and self-recorded backing tracks
- Your own collections, setlists and custom order
- Practice statistics used to compute practice suggestions
Anonymous diagnostics (optional)
If you enable "Share diagnostics" in settings, the system sends anonymous crash and performance reports via Apple's standard mechanism. This data contains no personal information and is used solely to improve stability. This feature is off by default.
No app tracking
There is no tracking inside the app. We use no analytics SDKs, no advertising identifiers and no cross-device user tracking. Your in-app usage behaviour is not recorded, not analyzed and not shared with third parties.
BandConnect
When you create a BandConnect code, the selected document is uploaded to a temporary server for a maximum of 24 hours. Access is only possible via the QR code or link you generate. No account is needed; no data about the recipients is stored.
After 24 hours the file is automatically and irrevocably deleted. You can also end the share manually at any time before that.
Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of contract — providing the chosen app function).
PDF & image recognition (MXL conversion)
NovaNota offers an optional automatic notation-recognition feature: you can convert PDF or image files (e.g. scanned sheet music) into the MusicXML format (MXL). Recognition is performed using the open-source software Audiveris, which runs on a server operated by novanota.cloud.
How processing works
- The file you select is transmitted to the novanota.cloud server in encrypted form for the duration of the conversion.
- Audiveris analyzes the file and generates an MXL file from it.
- The finished MXL file is transmitted back to your device and stored there.
- Both the uploaded source file and the generated MXL file are automatically and irrevocably deleted from the server after no more than 24 hours.
Data processed
- The contents of the PDF or image file you upload
- Your IP address (deleted together with the file after 24 hours)
No user account is required. Files are processed solely for the purpose of conversion and are not used, analyzed or passed on for any other purpose.
Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of contract — providing the chosen app function).
Cloud sync (iCloud, Google Drive, NextCloud)
NovaNota offers optional synchronization of your documents and annotations between your devices. You decide whether and via which service syncing happens — the options are Apple iCloud, Google Drive and NextCloud. Without your activation, no data leaves your device.
During synchronization, your selected content (PDF and MusicXML files, annotations, collections and settings) is stored in the storage of the provider you choose. The data resides in your personal account with the respective service; we ourselves have no access to this data and keep no copy of our own.
iCloud
Processing takes place exclusively in your personal iCloud container. Apple Inc. is the controller — see Apple's privacy policy: apple.com/legal/privacy.
Google Drive
If you choose Google Drive as the sync target, your data is stored in your personal Google account. NovaNota only accesses the folder designated for the app. Google Ireland Ltd. is the controller — see Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.
NextCloud
When syncing via NextCloud, your data is stored on the NextCloud server you specify. The respective operator is responsible for that server — for self-hosted instances that is you or your provider. NovaNota merely establishes the connection using the credentials you enter; these are stored exclusively locally on your device and are not transmitted to us.
Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of contract — providing the chosen app function).
Website & server logs
Whenever you visit novanota.cloud, our hosting provider automatically collects technically necessary data:
- IP address (anonymized after 7 days)
- Date and time of access
- Requested URL and HTTP status code
- Browser and operating system used
- Referrer URL
This data is technically necessary to deliver the website. It is not combined with other data sources and is deleted after 30 days.
Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in stable website operation).
Web analytics (Matomo)
To analyze website usage statistically we use Matomo — open-source analytics software that we host ourselves. No data is shared with third parties.
Matomo is deliberately run in a data-minimizing configuration:
- Cookieless operation — no tracking cookies are set.
- IP anonymization — your IP address is truncated before it is stored and cannot be attributed to a person.
- Respect for “Do Not Track” — if that setting is enabled in your browser, no measurement takes place.
- There is no cross-device tracking and no profiling.
Only aggregated metrics are collected, such as pages visited, approximate region (based on the anonymized IP), browser type and time on page — solely to improve the website.
Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in data-minimizing web analytics). Due to the anonymized, cookieless processing, no consent is required.
Cookies
The novanota.cloud website uses no tracking cookies and no advertising. Web analytics with Matomo run cookieless (see above). Only a technical local-storage entry saves your theme preference (light/dark) and language preference locally in your browser.
Getting in touch
If you contact us by email, the information you submit (email address, name, content of the message) is processed and stored to handle your request. We do not share this data without your consent. The data is deleted as soon as the request has been completed and no statutory retention obligations prevent deletion.
Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) or Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR.
Your rights
Under the GDPR you have the following rights:
- Access to the data we process about you (Art. 15)
- Rectification of inaccurate data (Art. 16)
- Erasure of your data (Art. 17)
- Restriction of processing (Art. 18)
- Data portability (Art. 20)
- Objection to processing (Art. 21)
- Complaint to a supervisory authority (Art. 77)
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at mail@hoch4Medien.de.
Changes to this policy
We reserve the right to adjust this privacy policy so that it always meets the current legal requirements or reflects changes to our services. The latest version is always available on this page.
As of June 2026. For questions or to exercise your rights, you can reach us using the contact details above.